As many as 475 people, including girl students and teachers from two Government schools in South-East Delhi’s Pul Prahlad Pur area of Tughlakabad were hospitalised after a gas leak from a container depot nearby was reported on Saturday morning.
The students of Rani Jhansi Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya and Government Girls Senior Secondary School, run by the city adminstration were rushed to four nearby hospitals while 12 were referred to AIIMS Trauma Centre as they complained of irritation in eyes and breathlessness. While 406 students have been discharged, the condition of the rest is stable, as per the doctors.
The Delhi Government has ordered a magisterial probe into the incident and also issued a show-cause notice to the authorities of Tughlaqabad depot. Police have registered an FIR in the matter under Sections 278 (Making atmosphere noxious to health), 284 (Negligent conduct with respect to poisonous substance), 336 (Act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code and the Environment (Protection) Act against unknown persons at the Pul Prahlad Pur Police Station.
Following the incident, teams of police and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) as well as Centralised Accident and Trauma Service (CATS) ambulance reached the spot. A CATS team was also sent to the location. The Delhi fire service also sent two fire tenders, one Hazmat van, one breathing set van and rescue tender to the spot.
As per the Delhi Fire Service, the leak emanated from drums inside a truck parked in the depot.
According to the police, a call was received at 7.35 am about some chemical leakage.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, South-East district, Romil Baaniya, said some chemical leakage at customs area of Tughlaqabad depot has caused eye irritation to the girl students in Rani Jhansi Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya and Government Girls Senior Secondary School.
About 11 students were referred to the Safdarjung Hospital. Meanwhile, a total of 417 students have been discharged so far. The rest will be discharged soon.
“legal action will be taken. It is a case of negligence, hazardous substance was not handled properly,” said the DCP.
The DCP further said the chemical that got leaked from the contained depot was 2 Pyro 5 Chloromethylpyridine which is used for manufacturing pesticides.
“The container had arrived from China and is currently at Sonipat with State Disaster Response Force teams (SDRF) and a police team of the Pul Prahladpur police station.
Union Minister JP Nadda has instructed all Centre-run hospitals to be ready to help the victims.
A team of doctors from AIIMS has been put on stand-by to cater to any emergency. A senior doctor at Batra hospital, where 55 children in the age group of 10-14 years were admitted, said their condition was stable.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia rushed to the hospital on Saturday to meet the students of the two schools affected by the toxic fumes of the chemical leakage.
“After gas leak, the students felt irritation in eyes, stomach ache and then they were admitted in hospital. I met the kids and most of them are recovering. There are only a few who are still having irritation in eyes while the other are being discharged. The Government has given enquiry orders. Whoever held responsible must be punished and if the containers would have been shifted in time, this incident would have been avoided,” Kejriwal told the reporters outside Majeedia Hospital.
The distressed parents of the chemical leak victims blamed the school authorities for “carelessness” while stating that the school should not have been permitted to function in such “harmful” premises.
“looks like the container started leaking at around 2 am and the people nearby put mud and water to stop the leak at that time, but they could not anticipate its impact,” said Narender Singh Rawat, a computer hardware serviceman, whose two daughters suffered from the chemical leakage.
While 12 students were sent to AIIMS Trauma Centre who were later discharged, 119 were admitted in ESI Okhla Hospital and discharged by evening, 63 including nine teachers in Batra hospital out of which 43 have been discharged. In Majeedia Hospital, 225 were admitted out of which 203 have been discharged and at the Apollo Hospital, out of the 68 admitted students, 66 were discharged by evening.
Apollo Hospital authorities said that the condition of 42 children and an adult admitted there was stable. “Therapeutic interventions as per clinical requirements were administered to them. Currently, all patients are in a stable condition,” the hospital said in a statement.